George Rhoades of Duncan, Oklahoma, author of "Along the Chisholm Trail and Other Poems". has won several national poetry book awards, including the Will Rogers Medallion Award and the Benjamin Franklin Award.
He was presented the Franklin Award recently at a ceremony in new York City. The prize was given by the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for the best book of poetry published by independent, university presses or self-published.
The Will Rogers Award, presented at an awards dinner July 28 in Fort Worth, Texas recognizes excellence in Western literature and media. The winning books were judged on literary quality and reflection of Western Americana, cowboy and ranch life.
"This was quite an honor and totally unexpected," Rhoades said.
Rhoades also won second place in the annual Reader Views Literary contest. Reader Views is a national book reviewer company. In addition, his book was named a finalist in the National Indie Excellence Book Award, which recognizes books published by independent presses.
Also, the book was nominated for a CIPA Award present by the Colorado Independent Publishers Association.
One poem from the book, "Old Men at the Coffee Shop," received an honorable mention award in the 2013 Writers-Editors Network International Writing Competition.
The book contains poems about the Chisholm Trail, cowboys, tall tales, farm life, reflections and observations. It was published by Outskirts Press.
Rhoades is a former journalist who worked for UPI and newspapers in Oklahoma. He taught journalism for many years at the University of Texas at Arlington. After retirement, he moved to the Duncan area where he owned a hay farm.
